State Scholastic Individual Preview

On tap Saturday are the Scholastic Individual State Chess Championships. There will be five different champions crowned: High School, High School Reserve, Junior High (K-8), K-6, and K-3.

The high school championship seems to be up for grabs since defending champion Matthew Fishbein will be playing in the Jr. High section hoping to qualify for the newly formed K-8 National Championship that will run parallel to the Denker High School Invitational at the US Open in Orlando, Florida this summer. Top contenders include Ethan Dininno, Matthew Reale-Hatem and Brett Parker all from Cape Elizabeth. Ethan Bergeron fresh off a stellar performance at the team championships could also contend. Keji Xu and Margaret Bryan carry ratings above 1500 and cannot be ruled out. Paul Rudnicki, Jiawei Zou, Connor Maines, Kellen McDonnell, and Ian Pelletier are also expected to compete and be factors in the final outcome. It seems like a wide open competition. In the high school reserve section Andrew Turner, Deanna Power, and Josh Shuman should contend for the title.

In the Junior High section Matthew Fishbein is the prohibitive favorite. There are many other top players, but they will have a hard time competing with this burgeoning master. He should enjoy a considerable rating advantage over nearest competitors Bethanny Humphrey, Ezra Briggs, Haley Deluca Lowell, and Anna Bryan. Wesley Parker is expected to play in the High School section.

In the K-6 section Ian Youth of Scarborough has a 200+ point advantage over his challengers. He may find his stiffest competition in his own household as brother Eric is coming off an undefeated run at the team championships. This section provides quite a bit of intrigue and an unknown could make a run.

The youngest section of the day (K-3) should provide a shootout amongst Deer Isle-Stonington teammates Cam Stewart, Ben Penfold, and Rylee Eaton. They all bring momentum from the team championships having all finished undefeated in leading their team to victory. The unpredictability at this level makes it the hardest to handicap.

Good luck to all competitors on Saturday!